South Dakota on the Frontlines of Pending Keystone XL Decision
Dakota Rural Action Continues to Advocate for Landowners and Safety Measures
Brookings, SD – President Barack Obama’s renewed emphasis on the environment and the release of the updated Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement has exploded the Keystone XL pipeline back onto the national stage. If it is approved, Keystone XL, a proposed 875-mile pipeline to carry diluted bitumen from the oil sands of Alberta, Canada, would cross the entire state of South Dakota.
Whether or not it will be constructed is a matter of heated debate across the country – but the pipeline has already left a permanent mark on South Dakota’s landowners and political landscape. Despite the renewed attention, the project is still lacking adequate safety measures to protect our land, water, and resources.
“We are entering into the seventh year of this intrusion into our lives,” says Bret Clanton, a rancher in Harding County and member of Dakota Rural Action, whose land will be crossed by Keystone XL. “We have all signed easements whether we liked it or not due to the fact that they possess the power of condemnation.”
Despite ongoing efforts by landowners, Dakota Rural Action, and others, South Dakotans do not have assurance there will be adequate bonds placed on Keystone XL to repair the land when the pipeline breaks. Additionally, there are not sufficient plans in place for an emergency response when spills do happen. Keystone I, built across eastern South Dakota in 2009, had 12 spills in its first year of operation, despite assurances by TransCanada that it would spill less than once per year. Diluted bitumen is a highly corrosive product very different from traditional crude oil and will require very different cleanup procedure.
TransCanada is already on the move across South Dakota, preparing for construction. They have been working in South Dakota for nearly a decade to ensure if Keystone XL does get approved, they can move quickly onto farms and ranches across the state to start building.
“If this project gets the go ahead we are going to have to endure the construction and adjust and adapt to learn how to live with it,” Clanton goes on to explain. “The various groups in opposition will go on to their next cause and I will still have to live with it.”
In February, Rep. Jim Bolin, R-Canton, sponsored HCR 1006 calling on President Obama to approve the pipeline. On a vote one landowner called “despicable,” HCR 1006 was overwhelmingly approved by the legislature with only 14 votes against. It emphasized the job creation and energy independence the pipeline is purported to bring to South Dakota. But what it did not emphasize are the risks landowners – and all South Dakotans – are being asked to take.
Dakota Rural Action is calling on state leaders to ensure if Keystone XL is approved, landowners are not left dealing with disasters. Dakota Rural Action feels it is time those same legislators who passed HCR 1006 take action to ensure no South Dakotan taxpayer is left cleaning up a spill of diluted bitumen on our land or in our water. It is time we do what is right and protect landowners who have invested in the economy of this state for generations. Dakota Rural Action will continue to work with landowners until adequate protections are guaranteed.